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| March 13, 2006 | Monday | Safar 12, 1427 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Four kidnapped Afghans freed, authorities investigate Taliban claim four foreigners killed KABUL, Afghanistan, March 13 (AP) _ Four Afghans who were kidnapped in Helmand province on Saturday have been freed, but police are still hunting for four Macedonians who went missing with them, officials said Monday. Afghan government's anti-terrorism chief, Gen. Abdul Manan Farahi, could not confirm a claim made by a purported Taliban spokesman that the militia had killed the four foreigners. Farahi said the four Afghans were freed on Sunday and were now with authorities but would give no further details.(First Posted @ 18:40 PST Updated @ 23:32 PST)
Russia says it will have new round of nuclear consultations with Iran MOSCOW, March 13 (AP) _ Russia's top diplomat announced a new round of consultations with Iran on its nuclear program Monday, but sharply criticized Tehran's approach in previous talks aimed at easing international concerns that it is seeking to develop atomic weapons.``Iran in the last day or two appealed to us again to hold consultations,'' Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters.``They will take place in the nearest future.''(Posted @ 23:00 PST)
Tornadoes rip across Midwest, killing 10 and destroying homes SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (AP) _ Swarms of tornadoes killed at least 10 people across the Midwest and damaged so much of Illinois' capital on Monday that the mayor compared it to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The violent weather started during the weekend with a line of storms that spawned tornadoes and downpours from the southern Plains to the Ohio Valley. Missouri was hardest hit by the weekend storms, with at least nine people killed and hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed or damaged. Hail as big as large oranges pounded parts of Missouri and homes were destroyed along a path of more than 20 miles south of St. Louis, officials said. On Monday, a second line of storms raked the region, with rain, hail and fierce wind tearing up trees and homes from Kansas through Indiana, and blizzards to the north cutting off power to thousands and shutting down schools in South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.(Posted @ 22:15 PST)
British troops to be reduced by 800: Reid LONDON, March 13, 2006 (AFP) - British forces in Iraq are to be reduced by around 800 to just over 7,000 personnel, Defence Secretary John Reid said Monday. Reid told the House of Commons that the forces could be withdrawn in May because Iraqi forces were now capable of taking over many duties assumed by British forces in southern Iraq.(Posted @ 21:55 PST)
Pakistani protesters demand boycott of Danish products ISLAMABAD, March 13 (AFP) - Around 1,000 protesters Monday demanded a boycott of Danish products in Pakistan's latest protests against blasphemous cartoons. They marched through Islamabad's main commercial district chanting "Down with Bush" and "Hang the cartoonists". About 300 of them then formed a human chain and urged Pakistan's business community to stop buying and selling products from Denmark. Another rally in the southern city of Karachi was attended by about 200 women.(Posted @ 21:46 PST)
US soldier killed in Afghan accident KABUL, March 13, 2006 (AFP) - A US soldier died Monday when his military vehicle rolled over during an operation in Torkham District, Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan, the US military said in a statement. "Although the cause of the accident remains under investigation, enemy activity was not a factor," it said.(Posted @ 21:40 PST)
American cartoonists send entries for Iran's Holocaust cartoon TEHRAN, Iran (AP) _ An Iranian newspaper's cartoon contest about the Holocaust has drawn about 700 entries from about 200 artists so far, including at least six American cartoonists, an official at the newspaper said.(Posted @ 21:10 PST)
Four hanged men found in Shiite slum where dozens were killed BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 13 (AP) _ Police found four hanged men dangling from electricity pylons in a Baghdad Shiite slum Monday, while bomb blasts in Baghdad and north of the capital _ many of them targeting Iraqi police patrols _ killed at least 11 more people Monday and wounded more than 40. They included a U.S. soldier killed in a roadside bombing in east Baghdad, the military said. In the worst attack Monday, a roadside bomb exploded as police responded to a false report of bodies inside a store in Tikrit, Saddam's ancestral hometown. Five policemen were killed and 15 injured in the blast, police Capt. Hakim al-Azawi said. A civilian bystander was also killed. Later, provincial Governor Hamad Mahmoud al-Qaisi escaped assassination when a car bomb ripped through his convoy in the city 130 kilometers north of Baghdad, police said. Two bodyguards were injured in the blast. Another car bomb exploded in a deserted street, causing no casualties, police said. In the afternoon, authorities imposed an indefinite driving ban in Tikrit, which was announced over mosque loudspeakers. Three car bombs exploded in the oil rich city of Kirkuk, killing at least one policeman and injuring 13, police said. And police found the bodies of two men, who had their hands tied and were shot in the head, discarded in the sewage system of a southeastern Baghdad suburb. In Taji, 20 kilometers north of Baghdad, a roadside bomb killed a minibus passenger and injured six others, police said.(Posted @ 21:00 PST)
India, China end border talks without agreement NEW DELHI, March 13, 2006 (AFP) - Indian and Chinese officials Monday concluded three-day talks on a decades-old boundary dispute and agreed to continue the dialogue in China, the Indian foreign ministry said.(Posted @ 20:55 PST)
Japan gives Pakistan 35 million US dollars for quake reconstruction ISLAMABAD, March 13, 2006 (AFP) - Japan on Monday handed Pakistan 35-million-dollar grant for education and health facilities in quake ravaged Batagram district in the North West Frontier Province, as well as to rebuild important infrastructure such as bridges, a Japanese embassy statement said. Japan had earlier provided a grant of 12 million dollars for emergency relief after the 7.6-magnitude quake that killed more than 73,000 people and displaced about 3.5 million last October.(Posted @ 20:52 PST)
President lays foundation stone of Expo Centre Lahore LAHORE, March 13 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf said Monday that prudent policies of the government have brought about economic turnaround with fiscal deficit having been reduced considerably and exports registering an increase of about 130 percent during the last five years. Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Expo Centre Lahore he said unprecedented economic growth has been achieved despite various difficulties. Exports which stood at US dollars 7.8 billion in 1999-2000 will exceed the target of US dollars 17 billion fixed for the current fiscal year, he said. Although imports are also on the rise, the lion's share is going on import of chemicals and industrial machinery, which ultimately would boost exports. "Special attention was given to documentation of economy which helped increase revenues and target of Rs 700 billion has been fixed for the current fiscal year while it stood at just Rs 203 billion in 1999-2000."(Posted @ 20:48 PST)
Kashmir. Geelani flays Pak Govt. 's U-turn on Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, March 13 (PPI) Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G), Syed Ali Shah Geelani has flayed Pakistan government's U-turn on Kashmir. Speaking at a meeting on the occasion of the second death anniversary of nuclear scientist Ayub Thakur, he said that contrary to the government of Gen. Musharraf, most of the Pakistanis supported the ongoing freedom movement in Occupied Kashmir. He vowed to rejoin ranks with those who have "deviated" from the path, but only when they make it public that they have achieved nothing from their talks with the Government of India. Pakistan has been supporting us since this movement began, but for some time it has shown undue flexibility in its stand. “But let me tell you that Pakistan belongs to Pakistanis and they have always supported Kashmiris and their cause", he said. “ My stand is clear: India should recall its forces, United Nations resolutions should be implemented, and people should be given the right of self-determination. That alone would solve the Kashmir issue ", he added.(Posted @ 20:45 PST)
POL: Opp parties will not contest next polls till Independent EC: Imran LAHORE, March 13(PPI): Pakistan Tehrik Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan (MNA) Monday said the opposition parties had resolved unanimously that they would not contest the next general elections until and unless an independent Chief Election Commissioner was appointed in the country. "The parties will not also take part in the general elections under President General Pervez Musharraf," he affirmed while addressing the members of the Supreme Court Bar Association. He said the opposition parties had decided to table a bill in the parliament for the appointment of an independent Chief Election Commissioner. Imran Khan demanded acceptable and reasonable definition of the word terrorism and said blaming Muslims for terrorism in the world was wrong and absolutely incorrect. He said Muslims struggling for liberation had been branded terrorists which was senseless. He also condemned military operation in Wazirastan and Balochistan.(Posted @ 20:10 PST)
Saddam-era judge stands by execution orders BAGHDAD, March 13 (Reuters) - The judge who oversaw the trial of 148 Shi'ite men accused of plotting to assassinate Saddam Hussein in 1982 said in court on Monday he had personally issued a death warrant for them and insisted it was legal. "They attacked the president of the republic and they confessed," Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court, said in testimony before the judges trying him, Saddam and six others for crimes against humanity. Former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan also testified. He denied involvement and, dismissing the new court as a tool of American occupation, accused U.S. forces of torturing him in custody -- a charge the court said it would investigate. Saddam, who was not in court pending his own testimony, made a similar torture charge earlier in the trial, without result.(First Posted @ 14:00 PST Updated @ 18:48 PST)
Three die as freedom fighters vow to continue Kashmir struggle SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, March 13(AFP) - Indian troops killed two suspected militants in occupied Kashmir and an alleged informer was beheaded in the state, police said, as freedom fighters vowed Monday to continue fighting New Delhi's rule. Troops shot dead two members of Lashkar-e-Taiba in the district of Rajouri late Sunday, a police spokesman said adding that suspected militants beheaded an alleged informer in Anantnag district late Sunday. Meanwhile, the Pakistan-based United Jehad Council vowed Monday, in a statement via a local news service, to continue the 16-year freedom movement saying that the ongoing talks between moderate separatists and New Delhi were "useless."(Posted @ 18:35 PST)
2 Towers blown QUETTA Mar 13 (PPI): Two towers of 132 kv transmission line in Bibi Nani area along Sibi-Quetta section of national highway were damaged by explosives planted by suspected militants on Sunday-Monday night. Three legs of each tower were blown, and the towers were now standing on one leg. Supply of electricity however continued without interruption as QESCO engineers started repair of the damaged towers.(Posted @ 18:22 PST)
Balochistan Forest Minister relieved QUETTA, March 13 (APP)- Balochistan Government has relieved the Provincial Minister for Forest and Wildlife Bakhtiar Khan Domki from his services with immediate effect, an official notification here Monday said. The portfolio of Forest and Wildlife will now rest with the Chief Minister Jam Mohammad Yousaf.(Posted @ 18:15 PST)
Pakistan explains its energy needs to America: PM ISLAMABAD, Mar 13 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz talking to newsmen after meeting the US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Monday a delegation from Pakistan will visit the US within one month to continue the dialogue process for cooperation in energy sector. He said Pakistan explained to US Energy Secretary about work on hydel projects, coal resources development, hydro carbon sector and nuclear energy sector. He said Pakistan has offered many countries and was willing to encourage them to set up nuclear reactors for the generation of energy and Pakistan would buy this energy from these reactors. "Now they clearly understand, what our priorities are," the prime minister said.(Posted @ 18:10 PST)
US to extend all out help for Pakistan's energy needs: US Secretary ISLAMABAD, Mar 13 (APP): Samuel Wright Bodman, US Energy Secretary Monday said that United States would help Pakistan to meet its growing energy needs which was eminent due to rapid economic growth. Talking to a group of journalists he said: "President Bush instructed me to look ways, how US government could be helpful in realizing Pakistan's energy objectives." Mr. Bodman in his opening statement said, the purpose of his visit was to "listen" and "see" and understand what were the needs and opportunities and how to attract investment to built energy infrastructure in Pakistan to keep pace with economic growth. "We also discussed in detail Pakistan being gateway to South Asia and its trade and energy links with Central Asia." We have outlined the potential sources of energy that include, coal, gas and wind energy. To a question, he said, my talks did not include civil nuclear cooperation. On gas pipelines from Qatar, Iran and Turkmenistan to Pakistan, he said, we discussed all of these pipelines. However, he expressed reservations about Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline.(Posted @ 18:05 PST)
Kasuri, Bodman discuss US cooperation in meeting Pakistan's growing energy needs ISLAMABAD, Mar 13 (APP): US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman Monday held wide-ranging talks with Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri on meeting Pakistan's growing energy needs through alternative sources including hydel, gas, coal, nuclear and renewables. A Joint Statement later said that the two leaders discussed key issues and next steps for collaboration in energy sector. The US Secretary invited Pakistan to send a team to Washington to discuss how the two countries could work together in energy cooperation and the steps that could be taken to attract more US investment. Answering a question on cooperation in nuclear energy, Foreign Office spokesperson Ms. Tasneem Aslam said that it was discussed during the meeting. "We have been discussing this (cooperation) and we will continue to take this issue up," she added. "As President Bush underscored during his recent visit, the US recognizes the urgency of Pakistan's energy needs and stands ready to assist Pakistan in developing sustainable options that meet both countries' requirements and concerns," the Joint Statement said. "The US private sector will be important to helping Pakistan achieve its energy objectives, and the United States will consult with its energy sector on Pakistan's energy needs," the statement said. The US will also discuss with Pakistan the importance of an investment climate that will accelerate new energy investments and encourage further exploration of energy development opportunities for Pakistan. The US-Pakistan ongoing cooperative efforts include renewable energy resource assessment by the National Renewable Energy Lab and funded by the USAID South Asia Regional Initiative-Energy.(First Posted @ 16:55 PST Updated @ 17:48 PST)
President Pervez Musharraf for practicising Islam in true spirit LAHORE, March 13 (APP): Calling on the society to shun extremism and obscurantism, President General Pervez Musharraf on Monday underscored the need to practice Islam in its true essence and principles. Delivering his presidential address on the occasion of the 115th convocation of Punjab University this afternoon, the President said Islam was a progressive religion which has no room for fanaticism. " We need to get to the essence of Islam rather than rituals and avoid conflicts and sectarianism."(Posted @ 17:42 PST)
Cricket-India name unchanged squad for final England test MOHALI, India, March 13 (Reuters) - Indian selectors named an unchanged squad on Monday for the final test against England that begins in Mumbai on Saturday. Squad: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Wasim Jaffer, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman, Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Irfan Pathan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Rudra Pratap Singh, Munaf Patel, Piyush Chawla.(Posted @ 17:10 PST)
Eight arrested, checkposts attacked in Pakistan tribal area DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan, March 13 (AFP) - Authorities have arrested eight suspected militants in Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials said Monday. Six armed men were arrested in Miranshah, and two more at a checkpost late Sunday. Separately rebels bombed another security checkpost in Shankai village some 70 kilometres south of Miranshah, destroying the building but causing no casualties, the official said requesting anonymity. Militants using small arms also fired at a checkpost in Boya village, some 20 kilometres west of Miranshah, late Sunday but there were no casualties, he said. A message attributed to local cleric Sadiq Noor -- who is blamed by the authorities for sparking the recent violence and is accused of links with Taliban and Al-Qaeda fugitives -- was played over the loudspeakers of mosques in Miranshah on Sunday, residents said. Noor has asked people not to flee their homes and has said that his men would not attack security forces near the populated areas, they said.(Posted @ 17:04 PST)
Eight dead after Indian family's suicide dinner LUCKNOW, India, March 13(AFP) - Eight members of a family committed suicide by eating a dinner laced with insecticide in Lakhimpur Khiri district, 150 kilometers northwest of Lucknow, police said Monday. Five of the dead were children and one girl was in serious condition in hospital, they said. The reason for the mass suicide remained unclear.(Posted @ 16:44 PST)
Explosions killed four in Bangladesh militant hunt COMILLA, Bangladesh, March 13, 2006 (AFP) - Four people including two children died Monday in blasts at a house surrounded by Bangladesh security forces hunting Islamic militants linked to a wave of bombings, officials said. Members of the police's Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) fired into the house in Comilla after the explosions and they later reported seeing four dead bodies lying inside, said Mahbub Alam Molla, director-general of the force. "They are a JMB (Jamayetul Mujahideen) man, his wife and their two young sons," he said. Police said they have not yet searched the building for fear of further explosions. Officials said they were still searching for the last two members of the group's seven-member decision making body.(Posted @ 16:36 PST)
Pakistan hits back at Afghan senate head's accusation ISLAMABAD, March 13(AFP) - Pakistan Monday emphatically denied allegations by Afghanistan's senate chief that President Pervez Musharraf ordered a suicide attack against him. "It is absolutely absurd and highly irresponsible," Major General Shaukat Sultan, President Musharraf's chief spokesman, told AFP when asked to comment on Mujadidi's allegation. "President Hamid Karzai has himself said that he cannot point the finger at anyone before investigations are finalised," Sultan added. Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said the Afghan senate leader's charges were "totally baseless", the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan news agency reported. Dadfar Rangin Spanta, a senior advisor to Karzai in foreign politics, said that Mujadidi's comments were "rather emotional".(Posted @ 16:30 PST)
US forces arrest 11 for attack on troops in Afghanistan KABUL, March 13, 2006 (AFP) - US-led forces have detained 11 suspected militants in connection with a roadside bombing in eastern Afghanistan which killed four American soldiers, the US military said Monday. It said the arrests came during a continued assault by US soldiers against insurgents in the Pech Valley of restive Kunar province, where Sunday's deadly attack took place. The military used artillery, Apache helicopters as well as the massive and heavily-armed AC-130 gunship aircraft in the battle, the statement said.(Posted @ 16:28 PST)
Moderate quake jolts Pakistan PESHAWAR, Pakistan, March 13 (AFP) - An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale jolted northwestern Pakistan on Monday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, seismologists said. The tremor was felt at 3:05 pm (1005 GMT) in Peshawar and in the remote Dir and Chitral areas, seismological department chief Qamaruz Zaman said.The epicentre of the quake was around 300 kilometres (186 miles) north of Peshawar in the Hindu Kush mountains which straddle the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Zaman said adding that it was not an aftershock of the massive, 7.6-magnitude October 8 South Asian earthquake, which has produced more than 1,750 tremors since it ripped through the region, killing around 75,000 people. An aftershock measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale rocked northern Pakistan on Friday, killing one person in Mirpur, in Azad Kashmir.(Posted @ 16:22 PST)
Afghanistan confirms first bird flu, 'high risk' of H5N1 KABUL, March 13(AFP) - Afghanistan has detected its first known cases of bird flu and there is a high risk it is the deadly H5N1 strain, United Nations and Afghan officials said Monday. Three cases of H5 bird flu were detected in poultry farms in Kabul and two in the eastern province of Nangarhar, said Azizullah Osmani, spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry. "Some samples we tested yesterday are positive for H5 but to determine the sub-type the samples have been sent to Italy," Osmani told a press conference. Serge Verniau, country representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said there was a strong possibility that the virus found in Afghanistan was H5N1. "There is high risk that the virus detected is H5N1 but other possibilities remain at this time," he said. The officials said Afghanistan had also detected one case of H7 bird flu and 37 cases of H9. The broad H5 virus category and the H7 and H9 types only kill birds, unlike the highly pathogenic H5N1 sub-type of the virus that has claimed about 90 human lives in Asia and Turkey.(Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Twenty-three killed, nine trapped in two Chinese coal mine blasts BEIJING, March 13, 2006 (AFP) Twenty-three miners were killed and another nine were trapped after two separate coal mine accidents in China, the government and state press reported Monday. Twelve workers were confirmed dead while nine remained trapped following an explosion at a coal mine in northern China's Inner Mongolia region at 4:00 am on Monday, Xinhua news agency said. Another 12 had been rescued after the blast at the Rongsheng colliery in Otog Banner in the southwestern part of the region, according to Xinhua. Another 11 miners were killed after a gas explosion ripped through the Gaoping coal mine in central China's Hunan province on Sunday, the work safety administration said.(First Posted @ 09:40 PST Updated @ 14:10 PST)
Strike over alleged extra-judicial killing paralyses Bangladesh DHAKA, March 13, 2006 (AFP) Bangladesh police used tear gas in Dhaka Monday to disperse opposition activists who called a national strike over the killing of a local party chief by an elite security force. The capital and other main cities came to a near-standstill as a result of the half-day strike called Monday by the youth wing of the main opposition Awami League party, officials said. Private cars were off the roads and schools, shops and private offices were closed. (Posted @ 14:00 PST)
Afghans ordered out of troubled Afghan tribal region MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, March 13 (Reuters) Authorities in North Waziristan tribal area said on Monday that thousands of Afghans thought to be living there must leave and return home through local state radio broadcast messages. The top government official in North Waziristan, Political Agent Zaheerul Islam, said Afghans had been given deadlines to leave two or three times last year but had not done so. "Now they are not Afghan refugees but foreigners and must leave North Waziristan immediately," he said. Monday saw a second day of relative peace in Miranshah. A curfew imposed nine days ago was further relaxed on Monday, allowing people to leave their homes for eight daylight hours to shop for essential provisions, but many shops remained closed. (Posted @ 14:00 PST)
Malaysia says Bangladeshis working illegally, causing "social problems" KUALA LUMPUR, March 13, 2006 (AFP) Malaysia has accused Bangladeshis of sneaking into the country as students to work illegally, saying their circumstances are "fishy" and they cause social problems, a report said Monday. Home Affairs Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said Bangladesh workers were still spotted on construction sites and in restaurants despite a ban on their employment two years ago over concerns they were causing "social problems". "They have blue eyes and look like Hindi film actors and they create social problems here," Radzi said. (Posted @ 11:35 PST)
British firms enjoy billion-pound Iraq war dividend: report LONDON, March 13, 2006 (AFP) British businesses have profited by at least 1.1 billion pounds since coalition forces toppled Saddam Hussein three years ago, The Independent newspaper reported Monday. Thanks to the "war dividend" 61 British companies have benefited from contracts and investments in Iraq, according to a joint investigation by independent watchdog Corporate Watch and The Independent. The amount involved could be the tip of the iceberg, according to the study, because many companies prefer to keep their Iraq relationship secret. The companies involved include private security services firms, banks, PR consultancies, urban planning consortiums, oil companies, architects offices and energy advisory bodies, said the paper which has always opposed the war in Iraq. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 379.39 points: KARACHI, March 13: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 10094.81, down 379.39 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:30 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, March 13: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.1 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 09:50 PST)
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